Sound Sunday wishes you Happy Alternative Holidays. Throw a party your way with albums that range from pop/rock and punk to chiptune, metal and grind core music. There is nothing like some loud music breaking through a silent night.

Note that name your price albums can be downloaded for free by entering 0 in the price field. That said, we strongly recommend you to donate a few dollars for music you enjoy!

You are welcome to submit your music, send suggestions with free albums you have discovered, or request genres I haven’t covered in a while. For all Sound Sunday related inquiries, please contact Tina [tina at makeuseof dot com].

From their Bandcamp profile: “We all know the Swedes can write a mean pop songs – but what about folk songs? Well, one artist is nonchalantly transferring the charm and fun found in most pop songs into sweet, acoustic twang. Sofia Talvik, brings bubbly blonde ambition to this raw and often quiet genre with a captivating breath of fresh air.”

From their homepage: “Hailing from Winnipeg, Quinzy is amassing critical and popular devotion as a result of the release of three masterful EPs, a tremendously successful annual Christmas concert called ‘Quinzmas’, a television show about their musical adventures in Singapore, two major concerts at the 2010 Winter Olympics, and placement of their songs in television shows such as ABC’s ‘Rookie Blue’. Quinzy is clearly poised for a major breakthrough, but who exactly are these dashing young men? They are two sets of brothers, who are also cousins, performing and recording songs that blend the cutting edge of modern musical conception with the best and most satisfying flavours of Pop music’s heritage.”

Songs from the Last Quinzmas is a name your price download from Bandcamp.

From Rush’s Tumblr page: “This holiday album was made by using only 8-bit sounds to recreate your favorite Xmas favorites like “Gloria”, “Silent Night”, “Little Drummer Boy”, “O Christmas Tree” and many more. Rush Coil’s use of 8-bit will have you not only nostalgic for Christmas days past but they days of video games with 8-bit soundtracks.”

Drew Creal writes: “In mid October of 2010 I started recording what would become “Carl the Christmas Squirrel.” It was a quirky idea but I was determined to complete the album even though I would be exposing a part of myself that most people weren’t aware of. I really just wanted to make the most menacing sounding Christmas album and combine it with a ridiculous concept that I always wish existed. (…) Anyone that listens, downloads or donates to this album is blessing me beyond measure. Thank you for your support. Merry Christmas. May Lord Zorlart be defeated!”

Carl the Christmas Squirrel and the Sugar Coated Arpeggio Gumdrop Candycane Forest is a name your price download from Bandcamp.

A Grindcore Christmas – Volume Two [2012]

Genre: metal, black metal, death metal, grindcore, noise

A Grindcore Christmas is a project of Phillip Acevedo for his indie label ROBO! Robotica. It’s the album that changed Christmas…forever.

And More…

Enjoyed one of these albums? Pay it back and share this article or the albums you liked. If you really appreciated a particular album, please donate to the respective artist, so they can continue releasing great music.

New to Sound Sunday? Past editions of Sound Sunday are available here.

Feel free to get in touch with me [tina at makeuseof dot com] to share free material, suggestions, and feedback or simply add your comments below.

Many thanks for featuring our festive “mini-album” (“…amid the winter snow…”) – great Christmas present from MUO! The bio is actually mine – my wife is a keyboardist and composer, and I’m the guitarist – but we’re really grateful for you featuring us… happy Christmas to you and all your readers :-)

This review may contain affiliate links, which pays us a small compensation if you do decide to make a purchase based on our recommendation. Our judgement is in no way biased, and our recommendations are always based on the merits of the items.

This review may contain affiliate links, which pays us a small compensation if you do decide to make a purchase based on our recommendation. Our judgement is in no way biased, and our recommendations are always based on the merits of the items.